Sales Productivity defines the performance, growth, and future of a company.
A lot of the revenue of a business depends on sales. Considering the importance of Sales Productivity, the task to enhance the sales can be pretty daunting.
Many studies reveal that one of the top challenges faced by companies is to maintain their sales reps.
This challenge soon becomes an obstacle in the growth of the sales if not taken care of.
Sales Productivity means increasing the sales revenues of the company without investing more than the required resources like people, time, effort, and money.
Now, as the competition in the market is increasing, more and more companies are available in the market which claim to provide similar kinds of services, which leads to a downfall in the sales cycle.
What is productivity?
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.”
– Paul J. Meyer
Productivity won’t have a more apt definition!
So, how do we create the perfect environment for increasing sales productivity?
There are a couple of techniques that can give you guaranteed results in the promised time.
These tools have proved to work to enhance sales in almost every kind of market.
Use of Smart Sales Tools
Using the right kind of sales tools is the best way to boost sales productivity.
Have you implemented a CRM for your business?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools play a very significant role in your business to grow.
CRM tools are usually designed based on the company’s strategy, market size, type of customers, and customer requirement.
A CRM streamlines your sales tasks, gives clear visibility of your sales pipelines, generates statistical reports, and many more.
A good CRM can do wonders for the company; therefore usage of tools tops this list.
Knowledge Transfer to New Team Members
The employees with the longest tenures in your company are the ones with the deepest knowledge of your organizational operations.
In the present knowledge-based economy, companies and products are intricately specialized. The long-tenured and highly capable employees should be retained with profound engagement. Their early experiences are a key factor that increases productivity.
The resources or employees who are working with the company for a long time are very well aware of in and out of the processes, strategies, and case-based outcomes. These resources can act as an asset to the company.
They not only benefit the company themselves but can train the new joiners about everything which can ultimately build a strong sales pipeline within the company.
Automate Routine Tasks
Do you think your sales reps are being productive by sending out emails? Or are they being ‘just busy’?
One of the most important techniques to increase the productivity of salespeople is to simplify their mundane tasks.
Good companies always focus on the comfort of their employees. Automating regular jobs not only increases efficiency but also saves a lot of time for the company employees which they can invest in designing productive ideas for the business benefits.
How do you do this? Simple!
Create easy to use email templates, easily adaptable proposal frameworks, and quick invoice builders to ensure their time-consuming job is done within seconds!
A perfectly aligned calendar system that has smooth integration with tasks, calls, meetings, and customer data can quickly skyrocket your productivity!
Opt for a practical and feasible CRM that can take care of all these for you.
Work on Sales and Marketing Coordination
As Beth Comstock, author of ‘Imagine it Forward’ says “You have to tell a story before you can sell a story.”
The story is always told by the marketers.
Marketing comes first in the picture before sales, so working on marketing can fetch a lot of audience for the company.
Marketing is an indispensable part of every business no matter how small it is. Marketing teams attract customers for the sales and after which it is the role of sales teams to sell the products.
Remember, sales and marketing always go hand in hand. -link to sales vs marketing blog
Adopt a Good Working Methodology
What is the difference between a sales process and a sales methodology?
A methodology doesn’t apply to the whole sales cycle. It is the small approach you plan for each sales section.
Working methodologies help you to split a large quantity of work among the team into quarters, months, weeks, and days.
There are many sales methodologies like SPIN Selling, N.E.A.T. Selling, Conceptual Selling, SNAP Selling, etc.
Choosing the right methodology as per your business requirement is a must.
This is a smart idea of prioritizing the work according to the sales requirement.
This technique is goal-driven and provides a scope to undo and make changes in the strategy as and when required.
Appreciate Your Team
People usually lose the momentum of work if not recognized in a timely manner.
Appreciating your employees by providing them extra incentives, bonuses, vouchers, or maybe a simple certificate or award can increase their productivity to another level.
At edge CRM, we call it the gamification of sales!
edge CRM helps organizations to recognize the performer with the help of Leaderboard.
The champions are awarded out-of-the-box accolades in edge CRM’s ‘Hall of Fame’!
These timely appreciations motivate our team to give their best.
It keeps competitiveness alive and urges everyone to be foremost in their game.
Measure and Repeat
Learning from mistakes is one of the best qualities to follow to make a successful business.
Heed the lessons of failure, and work on them.
And if you have had a successful venture, there is always more room for improvement.
Usage of CRM tools and past records help to predict a lot about the future growth of the company. So they should be considered every time before designing new strategies.
CRM can help you forecast your business with the help of detailed computing of the past records.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Let's sum up the 7 techniques that will help you increase sales productivity:
1. Smart Sales Tools: CRM is must
2. Knowledge Transfer to New Team Members: Train your newbies smartly
3. Automate Routine Tasks: Accelerate sales processes
4.Work on Sales and Marketing Coordination: Concentrate on both
5. Adopt a Good Working Methodology: Figure out what works for your business
6.Appreciate Your Team: Gamify sales
7.Measure and Repeat: Continue the growth
Each technique is necessary and should be considered to enhance productivity.
Which of these techniques do you use?
We would love to hear from you!
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